


You're Going to Miss the Girl

by Chash



Series: Holiday Fills 2018 [18]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/M, Selkies, merfolk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 11:57:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17043311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: The first day he doesn't see Clarke, Bellamy tells himself not to worry, and the second day too. There are all sorts of reasons she might not have showed up to sunbathe in their usual spot. Nothing bad has to have happened to her.On the third day, he decides it's time to do something. Just to make sure everything's okay.





	You're Going to Miss the Girl

**Author's Note:**

> Fill for [surfinggrimreaper](http://surfinggrimreaper.tumblr.com)!

The first day he doesn't see Clarke, Bellamy tries not to worry too much. After all, it's just _one day_ , and there could be all sorts of reasons that she wasn't at their usual spot. It's not even an agreed upon thing, that they'll meet there every afternoon. They've never talked about it, really. Bellamy knows that he prioritizes it, but that doesn't mean Clarke does, and even if she does, she's allowed to miss a day.

The second day, he has more trouble convincing himself that nothing has happened, and the third, he gives up entirely. Three days with no sign of Clarke and no word from her is clearly and undeniably _bad_ , not an overreaction on his part. She wouldn't just disappear without telling him, and if there was an emergency, he's sure she'd find a way to let him know.

And, after three days, she can't be mad at him for overreacting. If he was gone for three days, he'd expect her to come check in too.

Bellamy and Clarke maybe shouldn't be as close as they are, although there are no rules about merfolk and selkies not associating. There's no blood feud between them or anything, they just aren't species with a particularly deep bond. They tend to have different territories and diets, keep different schedules. They're friendly, but not friends, essentially, and that was how Bellamy and Clarke started out too. She was sunning herself on a rock, looking more like a merwoman than a selkie at the time, her sealskin wrapped around her waist while she let her pale human flesh soak in the sunlight. Bellamy did a double-take, thinking she was someone he knew, but then he realized his mistake.

He waited long enough for her to notice, though. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"I was going to sun myself there."

She moved incrementally, more as a gesture than anything else. There was plenty of room. "Don't let me stop you."

He'd started coming back at the same time, hoping to catch her, and she'd kept on being there, and before he knew it it was the highlight of his day, spending time with Clarke. He'd met selkies in passing before, but he'd never really sat down and talked to one. Clarke had more experience of the human world than he did, since it was so much easier for her to get legs than it was for him, and he listened to her stories greedily. She, in turn, was interested about the deeper ocean, where she couldn't go, with that pesky need to breathe air and air only, and he told her about the giant creatures he'd passed, the cold depths where he shouldn't have wandered.

If anything, he would have liked to see more of her, had been trying to figure out how he might do it when she suddenly stopped showing up.

Once the sun has begun to set and it's far too late for Clarke to show up, he leaves the rock and makes his way inland, to the shoal where the selkies tend to congregate, the place where Clarke returns after the two of them part ways. He's never been before, doesn't like the shallows much, feeling too exposed, and the way the selkies watch him as he approaches, black eyes unreadable in sealform, doesn't help.

Still, he waves. "I'm looking for Clarke!"

The selkies exchange a look and then one of them slides into the water, swimming out to him and then jerking his head to signal they should go farther out. Bellamy follows, and they go out to another rock, where the selkie shrugs off enough of its skin to expose the human face.

"You must be Bellamy," he says.

It's not what he was expecting, but it saves some time. "I must."

"I was going to come find you soon. Wells," he adds, an afterthought, and Bellamy nods.

"Clarke's mentioned you. Is she okay?"

"I don't think so."

His stomach drops. He'd been telling himself he was being paranoid, that nothing had really happened. He was being foolish and she just didn't take their meetings on the rock as seriously as he did.

He'd forced himself to be so sure.

"What happened?"

"The same thing that always happens to selkies, we think," says Wells. "She went on land and lost her skin."

He stares, a cold horror rushing through his veins. It's not the same for merfolk, but he's heard stories of what it's like for selkies. Like having their souls ripped away. "I didn't know that still happened."

"It doesn't, not very often."

"Are you going to help her?"

Wells' eyes cut away, awkward. "I'd like to say yes, but--there aren't any plans for that yet."

"Why the fuck not?"

"Because it's dangerous," he snaps. They just stare at each other for a second, and then Wells lets out a frustrated huff of breath. "You're not the only one who cares about her, but if someone on land knows what she is and took her skin, it's dangerous for one of her to go after her. We can't just charge in. We don't even know if that's really what happened." The anger burns itself out, and his expression turns thoughtful. "Some of the elders think she's with you. They thought she ran off with her merman."

"She didn't." He runs his hand through his hair, exhales. "I could go."

"Could you? I didn't think merfolk could go on land."

"It's more trouble for us than it is for selkies, but that doesn't mean we can't do it." Mostly, it's not _expected_ , the way it is with selkies. Selkies take off their skins and walk on land, it's part of the package. A merfolk who walks on land is thought to be rejecting the sea. "I have to beach myself in moonlight and stay there until dawn," he says, the memory returning to him slowly, through a fog of time. It always felt more like a legend than instructions. He never thought he'd actually do it. "The dawn's light will strip away the scales."

Wells looks dubious. "Really?"

"As far as I know." He looks up at the sky, gauging the clouds. "I think there should be moonlight tonight. Can you show me where Clarke usually goes to shore?"

"You really want to do this."

"Apparently no one else will."

"I was going to," says Wells. "Once I made sure she wasn't with you."

It's hard to tell if the jealousy is fresh or faded, if the feelings Wells might have had for Clarke were gone before Bellamy showed up or if he had to give up his hopes of getting her because Bellamy came along.

Either way, it's heartening.

"You could come with me," he offers. "I've never been on the land before."

"I'll see what I can do." He smiles. "The last thing we want is you getting stuck having to rescue me too."

"Second to last thing." Wells cocks his head, and Bellamy clarifies, "The last thing I want is to not find Clarke."

"I'll come to the beach every night," Wells promises. "If you need me, I'll be there."

"Okay," says Bellamy. "I need to tell my sister where I'm going. But I'll meet you here tonight."

He nods. "Thank you. I know you're not doing it for me, but--I'm still thankful you're doing it."

All Bellamy can do is shrug. There's no choice here; it's not a sacrifice. Clarke is in trouble and there's nothing he could do besides help her. That's all there is.

"Thanks for helping out," he says. "See you tonight."

*

Octavia wants to come.

"No," he says, flat.

"Come on, Bell! It's stupid of you to go alone. What if she's somewhere only girls can go or something?"

It seems like a pretty remote possibility, and Octavia must realize that too, because she goes on before he can reply.

"It would be better if someone went with you, right? Safer for everyone."

"Not safer for you."

"Safer for Clarke," she shoots back, a direct hit. "If you want to save her--"

Bellamy rubs his face, wishing he had a good reason to veto her plan. But she's right; he'd be better off with an ally, and while he could suggest he bring Miller or Murphy, Octavia would just say there wasn't any reason she _couldn't_ come.

And she'd honestly be right.

"You have to be careful," he says, firm. "And you have to listen to me. If something happens--"

"You're the boss," she says, too quick and eager. She must have realized she's winning this argument and all she has to do is not screw it up.

At least she's not going alone. It could be worse.

"Okay," he says. "But we're finding Clarke, and then we're coming home."

"Deal." She pauses. "So, how are we finding her?"

"Good question. I'm looking forward to finding out."

*

There's a human expression about finding "sea legs," for when they go on boats and have to get used to the way the deck shifts beneath their feet. It had made some sense to Bellamy before--he'd basked on pieces of driftwood and debris before, and even knowing the tides as well as he did, it had felt different--but now that he has his own land legs, it's painfully understandable. Standing is hard enough on dirt, he doesn't know how he'd do it on anything unstable.

"Okay, just do it like I do," says Wells. He's shed his skin and tied it around his waist like Clarke sometimes does so he can model proper human behavior. "Left foot, right foot."

"It's so slow," says Octavia. "And bulky."

Bellamy doesn't mind so much, but he's just as glad his sister doesn't seem enamored of her human body. He'd been a little worried she'd decide she wanted to leave the sea behind, and that would be a headache. 

"You get used to it," says Wells. "Wait until you have to put on clothes."

The clothes are tough. The selkies keep some spares around, just in case someone wants to go ashore, and Wells borrowed some for them, but Bellamy can't help thinking they don't fit right. Wells assures him it's fine, though, and he's the expert.

It takes almost an hour for Wells to approve them as human-passing, and that's almost worse, because once he has, there's nothing left but to leave the shore and go into town. Wells tells them where to go, to follow the signs until they see houses, and it seems straightforward enough, but there are so many things that could go wrong.

But as long as they can get back to the sea, they'll be fine. They can't lose their skins or themselves, not like selkies could. Salt water will bring them back to themselves.

"Good luck," says Wells, and then he pulls his skin back on, slides into the water, and he's gone.

"Okay," O says, giving one leg a shake like she still doesn't trust it. "Let's go."

Bellamy knows a decent amount about the town of Eden, thanks to Clarke. He knows that she goes once or twice a week and has some people there she'd consider friends: a man named Lincoln who owns an art gallery, a girl named Madi whose mother is ill, the town's doctor. She's not a part of the community, but they think she's a normal human woman who lives somewhere out of town and comes in sometimes for supplies. They like her.

There's also, according to Wells, one other selkie there who gave up his skin to live among humans. Bellamy figures he's their best bet to start, but that Lincoln will be easier to find, and that turns out to be right. "Grounder's Gallery" is right on the Main Street when they walk into town, a quaint little storefront with bells over the door that jingle when Bellamy pushes it open.

The first thing he sees is a painting of Clarke's, which makes him feel better. She paints on the beach and he's watched her from time to time, always with her permission. It's a very human kind of artwork, canvas that wouldn't last well under water, but Clarke has captured the sea in this one, the sun viewed from under the waves, a sight Bellamy has seen a thousand times captured for humans to enjoy.

"That's one of my favorite pieces," a man says, and Bellamy jumps, spooked. It's his first time talking to a human.

But he knows his lines. "Yeah, mine too." The man frowns, and he says, "I know the artist."

"Oh, you're a friend of Clarke's?"

"Yeah." He offers his hand, like Wells taught him, and the man shakes it. "Bellamy."

"Lincoln. She's mentioned you."

He absolutely does not look at his sister, but he can feel her eyes on him, can still perfectly picture her smug expression. "I was actually looking for her," he tells Lincoln. "I haven't heard from her in a couple days, I thought you might have seen her."

To his surprise, Lincoln's face dissolved instantly into concern. "I'm not surprised. I don't think she's left the hospital." The panic must be all over Bellamy's face because he adds, "She's fine," so quickly he almost trips over the words. "It's Mrs. Gardner. Madi's mother."

The relief washes through him. "I remember Clarke said she was sick."

"She had a bad turn. The doctors say she won't last more than a week. We're all amazed she's made it this long. Madi hasn't left her side, and Clarke hasn't left Madi's."

"Of course not," he says. "I had no idea."

"I think she's having enough trouble remembering to eat and sleep, let alone check in."

"I bet." He wets his lips, which is a weird thing to need to do. "Can you tell me how to get there?"

The hospital is, unfortunately, not close. Clarke apparently got a ride in the ambulance, but it would take Bellamy the whole day to walk, at least, so he asks for directions to Monty's first, ostensibly because he has something to give him, but mostly because he needs someone who knows how humans get anywhere. Their legs just aren't quick enough.

Lincoln gives him a few picture books to bring to Madi and some food for her and Clarke and sends him on his way, which is the best possible outcome. He gets why the selkies immediately assumed the worst, probably would have done the same thing himself in their place, but it's nice to hear that Clarke was right about her town. They haven't betrayed her after all.

Bellamy's legs are aching a little by the time he and Octavia make it to Monty's. He doesn't have much sense of how far they've traveled, but they started early in the morning and now it's closing in on midday, the sun making his skin warm without any water nearby for relief.

"No wonder humans need vehicles," O mutters. "Walking sucks."

"You're the one who wanted to come."

"And now I know better." 

Eden isn't coastal, but he can still see the sea on the horizon, and they're getting closer to it as they walk towards Monty's. Clarke shifts where she does because it's far enough away from settlements that she thinks no one will see her, but she could do it much closer.

"You could just go home," Bellamy points out, jerking his chin in the direction of the water.

"Not before I meet your selkie girlfriend," she teases, and he probably should have seen that one coming.

The houses out here are scattered enough that he has no doubt that they've found Monty's--pale green, as Lincoln said, with white trim--and it reminds him of a tropical wave, laced with sea foam. A selkie house.

If there was any lingering doubt that this was the place, it washes away when he sees the man in the front, tending to the flowers. As seals, selkies are identifiable by their size and the sharpness of their eyes, compared to regular animals. As humans, they have an aura about them, at least to Bellamy. This is no ordinary person, that much is obvious.

"Hey, are you Monty?"

The man looks up, eyes narrowing as he examines Bellamy and Octavia. They have a glow of their own, he imagines, but Monty's probably never seem it before.

"Clarke's merfolk," he finally decides.

"Bellamy." It seems as if Clarke's been talking about him. "And my sister, Octavia."

Monty nods. "I was wondering when someone would come looking. I was going to come check in if she was gone much longer."

"The selkies thought she lost her skin."

Monty rolls his eyes. "They always assume the worst."

"Her friend is in the hospital. That's pretty bad."

He sobers. "It is, and it might get worse."

"You think she won't make it."

He shakes his head. "And Mrs. Gardner wants Clarke to take Madi if anything happens to her. She doesn't have any family she's close to, and she doesn't want Madi to have to leave her home."

"Shit," Bellamy breathes. "She never said anything."

Monty shrugs. "I think we all thought she had more time."

It's not as if Bellamy didn't know Clarke had a life on land. But it's strange to be in it, to realize how much he didn't know. Even her own people thought she would have run off with him, but here she is stuck in a human hospital with a human girl, one who might be _her_ girl someday.

"Can you get me there?" he asks. "To Clarke."

Monty nods. "Just let me grab my keys."

The car is, by far, the most interesting thing on land, at least as far as Octavia is concerned.

"How did you learn? How does it work? Why does it smell like this?"

"Maybe let him answer a question, O."

Monty smiles. He's driving with Bellamy in the passenger seat and Octavia leaning forward from the back, fascinated by everything. "I don't know much about how it works, but the smell is the fuel. And Lincoln taught me. I said I grew up in the city and never got a chance to learn."

"Why did you decide to move to land?"

He shrugs. "I like land. Sunlight and gardening and cooked food. I still put on my skin and go swimming sometimes," he adds, "but I prefer it here. Most selkies seem to think they can't go on land anymore because it's too dangerous, and it's just stupid. I didn't think merfolk could at all."

"It's just more of a pain. We can't do it any time we want like you can."

"Are you thinking of staying?" Monty asks, and that is the question. If Clarke moves here, what does he do? 

He doesn't even know if she wants him here.

"Just curious," he says, and he sees Octavia roll her eyes in the mirror.

That seems about right.

*

Monty insists on helping them navigate the hospital, which is just as well. When the woman at the desk won't let them just go see Clarke for some reason, Monty asks if they can page her, and she does agree to that. "Clarke Griffin to reception" booms out of the walls, echoing with the woman's voice as she speaks into a device, and Bellamy glances around, trying to figure out where she'd even be coming from.

He doesn't, though, so she spots him before he sees her. "Bellamy!"

By the time he's turned she's there, throwing herself into his arms with a force that makes him stagger back a little. It's so much contact, close and hot and strange, this press of her body. He's never felt her like this before, but it's nice, amazing even. He buries his nose in her hair, breathing past the smell of humanity and hospitals to the familiar underlying scent of _her_ , salty air and sunshine.

"Fuck, I was so worried," he murmurs.

She sniffles a little. "I know. I wanted to get away to tell you, but--"

"Madi needed you. I get it. How's her mom?"

"Getting better, actually. Not out of the woods, but--I think she's going to make it. At least for now."

"Thank goodness." He wets his lips, pulls back to look at her. She's dressed like any other human, a light shirt and the stiff blue trousers they all like so much, but she looks worn out. She must not be sleeping enough. "I heard you were taking Madi. If anything happened to her."

"Yeah." She looks away. "I think I might need to--I want to be around. If anything happens."

"Do you want to be alone?" She frowns, and he swallows. "You know, in the long term. I'm getting used to the legs," he offers. "If you need some help."

Her eyes widen, and then soften. She takes his hand in hers and squeezes once, gentle.

"I could definitely use some help. Do you want to come meet them?"

He glances back at Octavia and Monty, but O just waves her hand. "Go ahead, we'll be here."

"My sister," he explains to Clarke as they walk. "I thought it was a rescue mission, she talked me into letting her come."

She smiles. "Rushing bravely in to find my skin and get me away from whoever took it?"

"If you needed that."

"No one knows, I don't think. No one believes in that stuff much. Lincoln knows there's something strange about me, but--" She shrugs. "I think he likes me enough to not care."

"It's a nice town. I can see why you like it."

"Is that why you're offering to stay?"

"You know it's not."

"I know. I want to hear it anyway."

"I want to be with you," he says, the simple truth. It's been what he's wanted for so long, however he could get it.

"Good," she says. "You can be."

*

Clarke has been making a little bit of money, selling paintings through Lincoln, and they can get a place cheap, this little cabin not too far from Monty. Bellamy's not sure about it at first, dark and cramped, smelling like damp wood and shadows, but that's only what it's like to _start_. As it turns out, he's good with construction, and Lincoln is too, and they can fix it. They find the bad wood and replace it, open up the windows and let the clean air in. Clarke paints the walls in bright colors, and Octavia comes by every few days with shells and questions. Bellamy's not sure his sister will leave the water like he has, but she likes visiting, and she definitely likes Lincoln. Even Miller stops by to see what the big deal is, takes a shine to Monty that makes Bellamy think he might be coming by sometimes too.

Eden might have a lot more magic in it very soon.

They make a room for Madi without discussing it; her mother is better, but Nyko checks on her every day, and no one thinks she'll last past winter.

As it happens, she passes a few days after the house is done, as if she was just waiting for her daughter to have somewhere to go. 

"Do you think we're ready for this?" he asks Clarke. "I still don't know that much about being a human. She's going to ask me how reproduction works and I'll tell her I don't know, but it's awesome."

Clarke smiles, as he hoped she would. She wasn't as close to Madi's mother as she is to Madi, but she's still losing a friend. "I think we'll be fine. She already knows how to walk, so she doesn't need tips on that."

"I'm awesome at walking," he grumbles.

"Sure you are."

"I just--we did all this. And I'm not upset about, but what if it doesn't work? What if we went to all this trouble and we're not even good parents?"

"I wanted to do this anyway."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I'd been spending more time here because I thought--you and me, we didn't have much future in the ocean. I couldn't live in the caves with you, you couldn't live on the shore with me. But here, we fit together. We've got a home together, even a child. I wasn't planning that, but--we've got a little life. That's what we were building here. A place for us bigger than just a rock."

"It was a nice rock."

She smiles, leans up to kiss him. They could have kissed before, of course, but it's a human thing. It wouldn't have felt very good if he wasn't one. Merfolk don't have mouths like this, and he would have been missing out.

"It was a great rock. But here's good too, right?"

"It is."

"And we're going to make it better," she says, so certain he can't help believing her. "For us and Madi. We're going to be happy, Bellamy."

And, somehow, she's right.


End file.
